Growth of new media spurs interest in film studies

Internet, business crossover fuels college course enrollment.

November 03, 2002|By Kathy Lauer-Williams Of The Morning Call

Five years ago, the fledgling television and film department at DeSales University looked as though it might fold. With only 14 students the first year and six in the second, school officials considered shutting it down.

But since then, the field has boomed. Television and film has become the school's second largest major, attracting about 120 students at the 1,400-student university in Center Valley.

Nationally, students are flocking to film and video programs both to express themselves and also to train for a career -- but not necessarily in Hollywood.

The growth of new media and digital technology has combined to open up Internet jobs, marketing jobs and everyday business jobs. Today, it seems, anyone can make a video.

The spike in interest caused Muhlenberg College in Allentown to cap enrollment at 137 students for its communications program, which includes video production, while enrollment at Temple University's film and television program doubled to 600 students over the last five years.

On a recent Friday night, 28 DeSales students gathered at Sim's Market in Bethlehem to shoot a scene for "One Dirty Night," a 15-minute film about the divorce of the director's parents.

Customers grabbing last-minute bags of candy for Bethlehem's trick-or-treat night stopped to watch as students descended on the store, hauling rolls of cord, adjusting klieg lights and setting up boom microphones.

Brad Price, a sophomore from Nazareth and co-producer of the film, said the students chose Sim's because of its quaint, old-fashioned air. "We were looking for a small, privately owned market," he said, "and we really liked the look of this one."

Price said he spent the previous three weeks driving around checking out hotels, motels and street corners for locations. The payoff for such persistence goes beyond dreams of a Hollywood blockbuster and mirrors changes in technology and society.

Paul Swann, director of the film and media arts department at Temple, called film and video the new form of expression for the 21st century.

"The economy is about image-making," he said. "It's the new way to make a living."

Al LaGarde, director of DeSales' program, said the video field has changed tremendously in the last several years.

"At one time, it was just for kids wanting to get into television or make films, now it's into everything," he said. "Everyone uses video -- the Internet, hospitals, businesses. There's a lot of crossover."

Muhlenberg professor Jim Schneider agreed that enrollment increases are "fueled by the growth of new media." He said digital technology, which allows anyone to make a video at home, has opened up a lot of opportunities.

"It's a good skill to have, since it's shaping everything in our culture," he said.

LaGarde believes that in the next year or so, DeSales' television and film program will overtake theater to become the largest on campus. Its 120 students produce as many as 25 short films and videos a year as part of their class work. The program has seven films in production, including "One Dirty Night."

Actor Phil Markley of Williams Township waited as the crew readied the store for the first scene. A little ragged from shooting until 4 a.m. the previous night, Markley said his first experience acting in a film was giving him a new appreciation for the work that goes into making movies. Shoots often last eight to nine hours for a few minutes of screen time.

Nearby, senior Katie McQuade meticulously cleaned a glass door through which a scene would be shot, and sophomore Jason Belshaw helped cover up a sign advertising cigarettes.

"We can't show brand names," he said. "There's a lot of little stuff like that to do."

As sophomore director Matt Naughton of Philadelphia yelled, "Action," camera operator Sean Welding crammed himself into a corner to follow Markley as he entered the store.

Naughton called "One Dirty Night" a "very personal" story that grew out of his parents' divorce. He first thought infidelity broke up his parents, but later learned differently. The film deals with how people often jump to the conclusion that something sexual is going on when it isn't.

The students cast outside actors, none of whom are paid, in all of the roles. Naughton said actors are willing to participate just for the exposure.

"It's weird sometimes being a 19-year-old student telling a 40-year-old actor, "I didn't like how you did that,"' Naughton said.

The students also produce seven regularly scheduled television programs for the campus, including a news magazine, sports show, music video program, a late-night show, local entertainment information and a game show with Price as host.

Bridget Kinnon, a senior, credits the DeSales program for being more "hands-on" than most, requiring students to use video cameras from Day 1.

"It was nice to be a freshman and use equipment," said Kinnon, who worked on the short film, "Reason," which won top awards at a regional film festival. "I learned a lot from my mistakes."

LaGarde said the department operates like a production company, and students must pitch ideas, assemble their own crews, scout locations and cast actors. "They learn how to do it from the ground up," he said.

Students' films have dealt with topics ranging from teenage pregnancy to the impact of smoking to a romance about a pizza delivery girl. LaGarde said some program graduates have gone to work on television shows such as "Hack" and "Less Than Perfect," on MTV's "Change of Heart" and on music videos for such artists as Will Smith.